Elder Brock Bird

Monday, June 11, 2012

On a mission it's rare to bump into someone you know from home. Brock had a wonderful encounter with his long time bishop who happened to be vacationing in Lincoln City.

Brock with his boyhood bishop Ted Hill and wife Becky on a deck overlooking the coast. It was a random meeting!

Sunday we had meetings and church, and holy cow after sacrament I stand up and am walking around talking to people, I look over and I see my old bishop sitting there with his wife! :) It was awesome! Bishop Hill and his wife, Becky! :) I was so stoked so i just grabbed him and they were as shocked as I was! It was awesome to talk with them, and set up a time later in the day to go have dessert!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

This is Brock and Elder Hatton with the Hansen family on Memorial Day 2012. Jackie Hansen, the mom, took this
shot with the caption: "Memorial Day keeping the kids in line at the Hansen's." (Thanks, Jackie!)

It's been busy, kind of overcast but today has been pretty warm and great!:)Tuesday we had a lesson with the Davenports. They're doing well. They are still sad about their cat dying, but they are doing much better. We went over there and had a great lesson on the Plan of Salvation and answered their questions. They have been going through some family struggles and so it was just great to sit there and talk with them and help them out in anyway we can. The bishop was awesome, just being there to help them and letting them know that he was there if they needed anything! Then we had a lesson with Bailey. She is doing really well and getting stoked for her baptism on the 22nd of June. Crazy how fast things are coming up! We read with her and answered a few of her questions. Later we had a lesson with Roberto! He is a Spanish investigator. Haha! Elder Hatton and I both were Spanish missionaries for only six weeks but it's fun teaching him. We had an awesome lesson with him and read 3 Nephi 11 and had a good discussion. We invited him to be baptized on the 22nd and he said, "I have been waiting for you to ask!" He is really an awesome humble guy. He is a chef at a restaurant here in town, and is looking for a new job because his boss is very racist against him and is just very rude! I don't understand how you could even be rude to this guy, he is just so humble and nice! The lesson went really well and he is just such an amazing person. That night we had a lesson with the Koceas again. We taught them about the Gospel of Christ. They really liked the lesson and the wife Corrine is trying to get work off so that she can be baptized along with the kids! We have really gotten close with them. So... they have the same dog that's on "Anchorman" and we call it Baxter! Everytime we go there this dog just goes crazy hyper on us, and just wines and wines because it is so excited to see us. It's so funny! I will have to record it tomorrow when we go over there! Haha!Wednesday we walked the 101 to talk to people. Most of them were tourists but it was alright! We did some service for the Grovers and helped them put their garden in. They have a huge garden, with all sorts of stuff, so that was fun! :) We had dinner with the Kartchiners, an older, super cute couple. They were pretty funny! they built their house and they have this huge swing. Biggest swing I have ever seen. You go like 30 feet in the air! It's legit! :) Thursday we went over to Jorges, the gun expert, and had a great lesson with him and his wife. We read with them and answered some of their questions then Jorge took us down and showed us some of the big guns he has, including a .50 caliber machine gun. Then we had a lesson with George and Alisha. They are going through a really rough time right now. They have a lot of medical bills and George has a pump in his head along with a titanium plate from a flash bang gernade that went off in his hand when he was in the military. But he is a really awesome guy. We also collected toys from other families in the ward and gave them to their kids because they're really tight on money and don't have a lot! They are doing really great and enjoying church! Alisha is getting baptized on June 22nd, so they are pretty stoked! :) Friday we had some great lessons! We had another lesson with Sierra and her kids. It was awesome, we're just helping her with what we can. I can only imagine being a single parent raising kids! But she does a great job. The kids really love the lessons and they bring us cookies! Saturday we had a lesson with Greg who is getting baptized on the 16th of June! He is doing really well and has been taught everything and is stoked for his date. He knows that it's what he needs and wants to do. He has been though a lot of heart break with things in his family! He is an awesome guy and has come a long way, use to be an alcoholic and and a big smoker. He has been clean for about 3 years now! He knows the church is going to be something that will keep his feet planted, so I am happy for him that he has found what's working for him! :) Sunday we had church. There were 400 plus people there. It was pretty packed with everyone in town!Today we BBQ'd on the beach and have just been chilling out enjoying the sun! Well love ya! Hope all is well and be safe!Love, Brock! :)

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Brock really wanted to stay in Winston to finish his mission because he and his companion Elder Ewell had several people ready for baptism. He really grew to love the people there!

Brock with the Beckinhaur family in Winston. He has a great love for the people he serves!

We're happy to report Brock loves his new assignment in Lincoln City and has already grown close to the people.

Things are going great. No worries. The beach is amazing! The area is way cool and the people here are all so ready to be baptized! Tuesday we tracted. Some of these houses I kid you not are the biggest thing I have ever seen. I guess that's what you get when you live in an area designated to tourists! Haha! But it's really cool, and I enjoy it. It's so beautiful. We had dinner with the Rehnes, a recent convert family. I enjoyed getting to know them. Elder Hatton and I were so hungry, and the pasta they made was bomb! Later we taught a man named Roberto, he only speaks Spanish. Brother Nightingale and I were able to teach him but my Spanish was pretty rusty so I wasn't much help. We will set a date with Roberto next week for baptism so we're stoked about that. We also had a lesson with a girl named Sierra! She is 25 and has two kids, a single mother, and a member of the church but not active. She wants to get back into the church and learn everything again. So we taught her the restoration which went really well and we set another appointment to meet back up with her later on in the week. Wednesday we woke up and ran on the beach. It is so nice to wake up and smell the ocean, just that fresh ocean smell is amazing. I love it! :) We have a dog that lives with us. It's a wolfdog and is so funny, haha it runs on the beach with us and it literally is the biggest baby in the world.

Apollo, the third companion at the Lincoln City beach house!

After our workout and study time we did some finding. We had a lesson with a guy named Adam who just got out of prison and has a pretty crazy past! He has been a member his whole life but fell away and now he really wants to change. We taught him and read with him for a bit. He is a pretty cool guy, just needs a bit of help to stay on the right track. After our lesson with him we went and contacted a bunch of people to try to get to know them so we can get the work going! We had an awesome lesson with the Davenports, a really cool family. We set a date with them and just talked about some of their concerns. They have an 8 year old kid who has severe autism, so it's really hard on the family sometimes, but he is an amazing kid. The parents are going to get baptized on the 16th of June! :) Then we went over to the Koceya family's house. They are a part member family and we read with them. We're working with the wife and kid. They actually just moved from Sandy, Utah. Imagine that! It was a great lesson! :) Thursday we did some finding in the morning, had lunch and then volunteered at the food bank. It was really cool to help people out and give them the things they needed. I love doing things like that. Later we met a guy named Jorge. He has every gun imaginable and has a shooting range in his backyard. We taught and read with him. That evening we had dinner at Elder Cooper's aunt's house, and they have a pet monkey. It's funny! It tried to attack me through his cage! I got a good laugh out of it.

Shane, the monkey, who tried to "attack" Brock. They're probably good friends now!

We had a lesson with Alisha and her husband, another family we are working with! The father is a member but his wife is not. They are really cool. We read with them and talked about the restoration! Friday we did some service and then spent our time contacting people and just setting things up for next week. We also did some finding, haha we just walk down the 101 and talk to people. It's pretty fun on weekends because there are a lot of people there! We had a lesson with Melissa. We sat down and read with her. She has a blood clot in her head so that's not good at all! We feel really bad for her, especially since she has two little kids! She will be leaving for a month to go live with her mom so she can take care of her and her kids, so hopefully things get better for her. Later we met our ward mission leader and correlated. Our ward mission leader is a pretty cool guy. He is a dentist and down to earth! Saturday we had a lesson with Gregg Wescott. He has been investigating the
church for awhile now, but we had a really good lesson with him and set a
baptism date with him for June 16th as well. He has been through a lot with his
family so he is pretty excited for baptism! We had dinner with the bishop! He is really cool and other members of the ward were there also so it was nice to get to know people! They all have these huge houses right out on the beach! After dinner we went to a few lessons with the bishop. We had another lesson with Sierra and the Koceyas. Sunday we had our meetings and I gave a talk in sacrament meeting, so that was fun! Everyone said they enjoyed it! haha! So hopefully they did! After church we had a lesson with Bailey! She is 14, and we had the lesson at the Hansen's house! We talked to her about her baptism coming up and how she felt about things and then read a few chapters and re-taught the restoration! That's pretty much my week, super busy but really fun! We're really working hard and just enjoying every second we have out here! The people here in Lincoln City are really great! Well, I hope all is well! Love, Brock

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Just when we thought Brock would finish his mission in Winston, Oregon, President Young gave him a "special assignment" to open a new area in Lincoln City, a beautiful coastal town.

Lincoln City coastline, Brocks new and last area.

This is Brock's first assignment along the coast so it should be an awesome place to complete his mission. By the way, it was wonderful to talk with Brock on Mothers Day. He sounds great, is enjoying the work and he is excited to come home on June 28th but says he's going to make the best of the time he has left! Here's his last email (the week before Mothers Day):

There is a clean car competition in the mission and the winners get 50 dollar gift cards, so I need the money and decided if I washed our mission car like I do my own, I would win!:) HAHA! In the meantime (Tuesday) we had an appointment with Brandon Waddell. He is doing great! We read with him and then went to dinner at the Simpson's house! I love that family! Patrick, the dad, and I have so much in common, were like the same person! :) They made enchiladas and they were sooo bomb! After dinner we just went and contacted a bunch of people and then read with the Athertons!

Wednesday we had zone conference in Eugene. It was actually my last zone conference so that was wierd. Then they gave the prizes away for the cars! Guess who won the 50 bucks? Yes, me haha! I needed it!

Elder Bird and Elder Ewell won the clean car competition worth $50!

After zone conference we had an awesome lesson with Amber. She is loving church and is stoked for her baptism!

Thursday we did some finding in the morning had some lunch and then just did some more finding and contacting. We had an awesome lesson with Troy, one that he really needed! He has has been going through a lot with his daughter but he just said that this is what he really needs right now! He is an awesome guy and does a lot of great things. He has come such a long way in his life. After that we went over to the Athertons and helped them rip down a shed. We have been helping them a lot in their yard! Never thought I would say this, but I love yard work! :) Haha! We also had a great lesson with Taliti. He is doing really well. Their dad is the football coach at the high school, so we talk football quit a bit. They are a really awesome family and I have just really grown close to them! :

Friday we had a lesson with Memory and Steph. Memory is getting ready for her baptism next week, so I am excited for her.

Saturday we had our AP correlation then helped Billy rip out blackberry bushes and get their yard ready for tilling. We met with this woman named Cammie. She is really cool. We just started teaching her, and she has just been really looking for things to help her out in her life. She lives alone with her daughter and they are going through some struggles, but we had an awesome lesson with them and they're coming to church next week. We had dinner with Billy and Stephanie Atherton, they took us out to the Rodeo Steak House!) Haha! It was boss!

Elder Bird and Elder Ewell getting ready to down those ribs at the Rodeo Steak House in Roseburg!

After that we went and taught the Lancasters. They are doing great! Haha, gotta love that family! So entertaining. They're such goofs!
Sunday we had church and a lesson with Taliti and then we went out and contacted some people and did some finding! We gave Brandon the sacrament.
(Monday-P-day) I had to find a doctor to give me a tetnus shot because I stepped on a rusty nail about three days ago.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Tuesday we went to Eugene for specialized training and we were there pretty much all day. After that we headed home and only had a little time to visit a few people. Wednesday was pretty busy. We did some finding in the morning. We went and saw Troy and down and read with him. He is doing awesome! His daughter was in town so we got to meet her, she was pretty chill. We had a really good lesson with a new investigator we have been teaching. Her name is Amber and she works at the school district as a councilor. She grew up Lutheran and has really struggled with a lot of the doctrine she grew up with and has been looking for more! We taught her about the Restoration and answered a lot of her questions. It went really well. She said everything we taught her made complete sense and it's something that she really wants in her life, so we set a baptismal date with her for May 19th! :) After that we had dinner with the Jacintos Such a funny couple! I love them! Brother Jacinto worked for NASA for a really long time and told us all these cool stories about every space launch. He's writing a book about them all! After dinner we saw a few people and read with the Athertons. Everything is going really well there. We moved Memory's baptismal date to May 12th, so she is pretty stoked about it!

Myrtle Creek, Oregon. A sample of the country Brock gets to see on the road.

Thursday morning we did some finding and then drove down to Myrtle Creek to go on exchanges with South Umpqua. I was with Elder Ringer in my area. We had a lesson with Brandon Waddell. He is doing better, just getting ready for the big day and the big surgery! He's kind of nervous about it. Afterwards we went over to Troy's and talked with him and his brother. They are hilarious. We dinner and then went over to the Athertons to read with them! :) Friday we did some finding and ran into some pretty chill people who told us to come back, so that was good! We had a lesson with Sarah. She is getting ready for her wedding and has a lot going on! She has been reading quite a bit from the Book of Mormon. Our lessons have gone really well and she is always excited when we come over.

Elder Bird was impressed with the green trees and rolling hills of Camas Valley, Oregon.

After our lesson with her we exchanged back and then had to drive to Camas Valley for dinner, way out in the middle of the boonies, but it's really pretty over there, nothing but rolling hills of green tall trees! We read with the Athertons and the Van Ackers. HaHa, get those two families together and you're in for a treat. They're pretty funny! We played some games with them and then went home and crashed. Saturday was a lot of hard work. We were at the Athertons cutting down trees, and ripping out fence all day. It was 90 degrees. I got fried. We went over to the Simpson's house to see Wylie. Patrick and his wife were so we just talked with them and then we all drove to Taco Time and ate. It was pretty fun! Sunday was just crazy! We had stake conference, then stake correlation, and lunch right after that. We had a lesson with Talati. He is doing really well, super stoked about his baptismal date and has been really busy with all the sports and stuff he and his brother are doing. We had a great lesson. Sepha and Talati are so funny. We had another lesson with Amber. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation and she just loved it. It was a really good lesson and she is just so solid with everything! She has three dogs though and oh my gosh haha! One is a chihuahua, like 3 months old, smallest thing I have seen, a black lab, and a toy poodle! The toy poodle just yaps and wants to play 24/7. It's a little black ball of energy haha! It always gives us a laugh when we see it since it just runs around as fast as it can! haha! We had dinner with the Beckinhauers which is always fun. Their 3 year old son is my little buddy. He just folows me around and says the cutest things. Jennifer, his mom said, "I have never seen him take to anyone the way he takes to you! Only his father and grandfather!" He is a cute kid! I love him! When we left there we had a lesson with Memory and that was our evening and week! Things here are going well. Signing up for classes this week! :) I love you and will send pics next week! :)

Sunday, April 22, 2012

(From Ron Bird)
I had the pleasure to speak on the phone with President Mark Young. It is great to hear that Brock is doing so well and has been given a very important assignment to finish his mission. Brock was sad to see his great companion Elder Cooper transferred, but he's excited to have his new companion Elder Ewell. He's only been out six months but President Young has called on Brock to train him as a new zone leader as his "last hurrah!" President Young said Brock has been an exceptional leader in the mission and that he will miss him once he goes home at the end of June. President Young has had such a profound impact on Brock and the other missionaries. We are forever grateful to him.

This is at a zone leader conference on March 2, 2012. Brock is on the back row, 10th elder from left to right. President
Young says Brock is a frequent contributor at the training conferences.

No question, Brock loves to eat and usually one meal is one bite! This photo
was taken at a zone conference in March.

President and Sister Young pose with the zone leaders outside the mission home in Eugene. This is during a zone leaders'
conference on February 1, 2012. Brock is in the middle of the back row. What a beautiful setting. It looks like Oregon!

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Brock just learned he will be released from his missionary service on June 28th. This is about a month early so he can start school at Utah State University and be there in time for fall football camp. Here are some of the highlights in Oregon from the last couple of weeks:

Elder Bird gives us a look at Winston, likely the place where he will end his mission.

March 12-18, 2012

Tuesday we contacted a few former investigators and actually ran into a really cool family, the Grimes family of 8 that we are now starting to teach. They are really chill and really cool, humble people! They live out in the middle of nowhere and Elder Cooper almost drove our car off a cliff trying to find them! :)

We had a lesson with Troy that went really well, haha he's funny, and is getting ready for his finals in his class. He is a welder, so he is under a lot of pressure because he's a little behind on his project. We had dinner and then a lesson with Brandon who is doing very well, getting ready for his bone marrow transplant at the end of the month, so he is a little nervous about that. We went over to the Athertons and finished up with Memory's lessons. So now we're just reading with her and reviewing things before she gets baptized! She is doing great! Later we met up with Wylie again and went over some things we taught and he is just doing awesome! Haha, funny kid! Got to love him! :)

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Elder Bird and Elder Cooper sharing a lighter moment with Brandon at his baptism! Brandon will soon receive the Aaronic Priesthood.

Wednesday we had a really good lesson with the Mackey family! We set a date for them for May 5th to be baptized as a family. It was really cool to sit down and have a nice lesson with them. We saw Troy again and helped him around his yard a bit. We had a lesson with Brandon who was recently baptized recently about getting ready for the priesthood, so I am excited for him. We stopped over at the Lancaters. They are a recent convert family that got baptized back in November and it was a good visit.

Thursday we met up with Elder Jensen and Elder Sutton the assistants. I went with Jensen to teach Troy and Elder Cooper went with Elder Sutton to teach Brother Kehne. Both lessons went really well. Jensen was the original missionary that found Troy, so that was a nice surprise for Troy and it went really well. Elder Cooper and I did some finding after the lessons and ran into a girl named Sarah who is getting married in August, and she had been looking for a church to attend. So we set an appointment for Saturday! :)

Friday we had a lesson with the Mackeys again and it went well. We taught them the Plan of Salvation, and took a puzzle for the kids to put everything together. They really enjoyed having the lesson geared for the kids. The are really excited about the church. We did some finding in a town called Ten Mile which is pretty much nothing haha! But we met some interesting people! We saw the Van Acker family, a part member family and we set up an appiontment for that evening and taught Luke the non member husband! We had an awesome lesson with him. He is really cool and he really opened up to us and said he is going to start making church a higher priority in his life along with having an even stronger unity within the family! :) We were stoked! :)

March 19-25, 2012

So Tuesday we did some finding in the morning, had some lunch and then had a pretty good lesson with Troy. I love that guy he is so funny! We have grown really close to troy and he is getting super stoked about his baptism, as am I. A lot of people have been waiting on Troy for awhile. I am just glad i get to be a part of it all. We had a pretty sick lesson with the Athertons again. The family is solid. They're a funny group and their girls are crazy, but we have a fun time teaching them. Memory is getting ready for her baptism as well. We're just continuing to read with her and Stephanie. She just discovered that her iphone will read the B.O.M to her, so she was pretty stoked about that! Haha! We also taught Wylie. \That kid is literally so funny! No joke! I love him, but he and his family are doing really well! :)

Wednesday we had a great lesson with Sarah. She has been really excited about church. Her date isn't until August, so unfortunately I will miss out since I'll be home by then. But it's still a blast to teach her and her husband Jared. We also went and read with Stephanie and helped Billy move some stuff into the backyard because we're building a fence. We also visited with the Lancasters. Their kids are getting ready to go on Trek this summer. Haha! Their daughter is slightly less excited about it. It was funny! Thursday we did some more finding in the morning and then we had a lesson with Troy. He is totally changing and he was so happy that we were coming back over. He wouldn't let the missionaries over for awhile but he loves us and reading with us. He has just been super happy lately and he said he knows it's because he has been meeting with us and feeling the Spirit. He bore his testimony to us about a few things and then we invited us over for dinner on Saturday.

Friday we had interviews with President Young. I got my release date. It is june 28th. He basically talked about going home and he told me that where I am now is my last area and that he wants to have Elder Cooper and me together for another transfer, but he also wants me to train a new zone leader! It was good talking with President Young. He is a funny guy!

Mission Call! May 7, 2010

Farewell, August 1, 2010

Click on image for more photos!

Oregon Eugene Mission

Brock's Mission President

President Mark Young and Sister Sue Young. They have four children and are from the Mount Olympus 4th Ward, Salt Lake Mount Olympus North Stake. President Young was a bishop and a former counselor in a stake presidency. Also served as a Young Men president, ward mission leader, high councilor, elders quorum president, and missionary in the Canada Toronto Mission. He has owned several McDonald's restaurants in the Salt Lake area. Click on their photo to see the Oregon Eugene Mission blog!

Lincoln City--Brock Opens A New Area, His Last Area!

Lincoln City is right on the coast, a beautiful place to end Brock's mission. He was sent to open this area and hopefully pave the way for many to be introduced to the Gospel. Lincoln has nearly 8-thousand residents. It's two main industries are tourism and retirement!

Winston--January 2012--May 2012 Served As Zone Leader

Brock lives in Winston, a very small town with a population of about 25-hundred people. It is next door to the more famous town of Roseburg. Located in Southwestern Oregon, Roseburg is a part of the hundred valleys of the Umpqua. In Roseburg, you can climb a mountain, raft a river or catch a salmon in some of the most picturesque areas of the Pacific Northwest. It is a part of a water wonderland crowned by the world famous Umpqua River. It is also close to the Oregon coast!

Brock's Weather In Lincoln City

Bend--July 2011--January 2012 Served As Zone Leader

Bend is central Oregon's largest city with a population of 76,639 as of the 2010 US Census. The town is located on the eastern edge of the Cascade Range along the Deschutes River. It started as a logging town but is now known for its many outdoor sports, including mountain biking, fishing, hiking, camping, rock climbing, white-water rafting, skiing, and golf.

Eugene--Served July 2011

Eugene is Oregon's second largest city with a population of 156,000. It's home to the Oregon Ducks and is widely known for its beauty, biking, running, rafting and kayaking.

Eugene Video Tour!

Klamath Falls--Served January-June 2011

Main Street in Klamath Falls. The town's population is about 21,000. The biggest employers are a medical center and the school district. Klamath Falls is also home to the Oregon National Guard's 173 Fighter Wing at Kingsley Field.

Klamath Falls Video

Corvallis--Served August 2010-January 2011

Downtown Corvallis. Population 55,000. Corvallis is the Benton County Seat, and a study showed that the county is the least religious per capita in the nation!

Brock's First Mission President

President Thomas MacDonald and Sister Kaye MacDonald. They were released in July 2011. Click on photo to see their blog.

Medford, Oregon Temple

The temple in Medford resides within the Oregon Eugene Mission. It is the 79th operating LDS temple and was dedicated in April 2000. There is also a temple in Portland.